The Button

Contents

Host

Broadcast

Synopsis

Back in the early years of the century, TV shows encouraged us to "press the red button for playalong fun". Now this fashion has passed, the button has popped out of the television set.

Five households have agreed to play The Button's game. Their homes have been rigged up with cameras, and over the course of the day they'll play five fun challenges.

Press red now.

Challenges of skill, intellect, determination, and outright silliness. Name as many countries of the world as you can. Find someone called Gary. Stand in a silly position.

A silly position.

Each challenge is worth more money - £1000 for the first, £5000 for the last. Only the winners of each show can take their prize and leave the contest, and the winners are offered a bonus of £10,000 to come back next week. Everyone else stays to play again: like on Going for Gold, victory is the only escape.

The Button is fun and feelgood. Alex Horne announces his presence with a cheery "Hello, households!", and the programme is cut to show all the interesting bits. We don't need to see all the waiting around, so we don't. Alex also banters with the contestants, and will react to something someone said.

The final challenge is always spectacular.

By keeping the same teams from week to week, we're able to draw out some of their personalities. Loud screaming from one household, a string of defeats for another. The producers cast some very diverse households, with different ways of thinking.

Inventor

Original concept by Tris Cotterill. Developed by Alex Horne and Andy Devonshire, also responsible for Taskmaster.